Build your ability to bounce back from adversity

I am convinced that one of the key attributes that budding and existing entrepreneurs should display is the strength of resilience.

I would go further and say that learning about resilience is an incredible set of life skills that can add depth and capacity to you irrespective of your age, gender or employment status.

Whether big or small, adversity is an inevitable part of life. Research shows us that we can expect to experience approximately six negative life events within four years.

For some of us, these events will knock us down and keep us on the ground. For others, they will be nothing more than light setbacks that teach us something valuable. The big question is, “What causes this difference?”

Research indicates that the resilience of our response to negative external events rather than negative external events themselves, determines whether we experience well-being.

Well then, what is resilience? Resilience is defined as “a dynamic process encompassing positive adaptation within the context of significant adversity”.

In this definition, positive adaptation refers to the ability to maintain or regain mental health despite experiencing adversity, while adversity refers to the unfortunate, difficult, or challenging events in our lives. In plain language, you can think of resilience as a person’s ability to “bounce back” from life’s inevitable stresses.

However, it can also involve profound personal growth.

I needed to “walk” the talk recently when I was mugged and robbed of my laptop and cellphone. The incident happened at a quiet coffee shop where I was on a virtual call.

Within the space of a minute, I was pepper sprayed and the items seized. The repercussions of that act stayed with me for some time though.

Questions of “what if”; “what could I have done to prevent this” and more played havoc with my peace and equilibrium for a season.

The nature of my work with entrepreneurs and business owners means I have had to familiarise myself with tools to help build resilience..

I am on a journey with this, but part of the reason I think I navigated the mugging reasonably well and recovered quickly is because of things I have learnt about resilience.

I found real value in applying the following three principles:

• Firstly, finding a sense of purpose in life.

This can help you find meaning in life’s challenges. Instead of being discouraged by your problems, with a defined purpose, you’ll be more motivated to learn from past experiences and keep going.

I love this saying by American author Mark Twain: “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”

Having that sense of purpose to your life, where your strengths are tapped into and where you feel you are adding value to others has been a very real experience for me. In my instance, it revolves strongly around my faith..

What is that overarching reason that gets you out of bed in the morning? When you find that you have found a reason to respond with resilience.

• Secondly, develop a strong social network and integrate within a community.

I was overwhelmed by the love, care and support displayed to me by family, friends, colleagues and the community I am a part of.

Two examples were the love and support of my wife and family (daughter and son-in-law visiting from Australia) and secondly, the support from the community I am privileged to be a part of.

I felt at such a loss with no quick access to contact telephone numbers, etc. This was soon remedied by a younger, tech-savvy friend who helped recover most information and lent me devices until the stolen ones could be replaced. These are two examples of many kind gestures and support that I received.

It truly does take a village to grow an entrepreneur.

• Thirdly, be optimistic. I repeat a line used earlier, research indicates that the resilience of our response to negative external events rather than negative external events themselves determines whether we experience well-being.

Our responses are important and how we see the world has an impact on how quickly we recover.

Optimism is something that can be learnt, so whether you are pessimistic or in the middle now, you can learn to be optimistic.

I learnt the 90/10 principle many years ago. It says that life is 10% what happens to you, but 90% about how you respond to what happens to you.

Often you have little control about what happens to you, yet you have 100% responsibility for how you respond to what happens to you. Over time, my default setting has been one of hope and optimism, where I purposely look for reasons to be grateful within the things that happen to me. That makes a huge difference.

I want to finish off with an encouragement to all business owners and entrepreneurs to up their security; use password managers and back up your documents. It could save you much heartache.

My marketing support, Gorecki marketing, insisted that I do a back-up on Google Docs two months ago. I am glad I did.

My son-in-law, a risk manager, helped me to consolidate my passwords more safely.

And I am upping my sense of awareness, without giving way to anxiety. Here’s to more resilient people.

● Steve Reid runs his own business in support of entrepreneurs, leaders and incubators.

Contact him at steve@entreprenacity.com